The Blind Side Review and Give - Away

I love football. I am one of those unique women that lives for football and follows football year round. So, naturally I bought The Blind Side the day it was released on DVD. I absolutely love this movie. Not just because it deals with football, but the whole story. The basic plot is the story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family (the Tuohy’s). It stars Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sam Tuohy and Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher. I give this movie an A+!

For more information about this movie visit here.

Now, I followed the 2010 NFL draft and now that it’s over, I want to do a give-away in honor of it. This is my very first give-away!

So, here goes:
I am giving away one copy of The Blind Side in either DVD or Blu – Ray format to one of my readers.

To enter, leave me a comment and tell me which Sandra Bullock movie is your favorite (besides The Blind Side). Also be sure to leave in your comment if you prefer the DVD or blu-ray disc. This is required and must be done before the extra entries count!

EXTRA ENTRIES!
You can do any of these things for an extra entry. Make sure to leave a separate comment for EACH thing you do.

1- Subscribe to my blog via email (see top of sidebar).

2- Blog about this giveaway. Be sure to link back to this post.

3- Follow on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You can Tweet once a day for an extra entry every day! (Come back each day and leave a comment) You can copy and paste: WIN a copy of The Blind Side (approx. $20 RV) @itlnblladiaries http://bit.ly/bBQKVP

4- Follow my blog publicly.

5- Become a fan of The Italian Bella Diaries on Facebook.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on May 16th when I will draw a winner at random. PLEASE leave your email address if it is not visible on your profile. I will notify the winner via email and they will have 48 hours to respond!

** Please note that I have received no monetary compensation for my review or give-away. **

Connor -- 8 weeks

Today my sweet boy is 8 weeks old. Monday will be 2 months. He is growing so fast!

Mommy Moments -- The Color RED

I had to search back for some RED photos as well. Apparently that is not one of my favorite colors either. Hmmmmm......

So, here are my red photos for the week.


Kids bouncing in a RED moon bounce:


Charlotte wearing RED clothes (playing in the sprinklers. LOL) - Age 3:


Tina wearing her RED shirt, modeling her Lava Bottle - Age 11:


Connor in his car seat which has a RED button - Age 6 weeks:


Twins Cheyenne and Courtney wearing RED - Age 3 months:


My cup from Daiquiris and Company with RED writing:


The Rougarou, an old French legend in Louisiana. The "monster" is red. Replica is at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.:


The Riverwalk in New Orleans. The letters are RED.:


Carolyn with RED apples - Age 6:


Caitlyn unwrapping a RED present - Age 3:


Raising Cane's, the most awesome chicken place ever, which has a RED sign:




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Don't forget to join us over at The Mommy Journey for Mommy Moments!

FUN IN THE SUN.......

Please note that this post is full of pictures. Like 30 of them, so give it some time to load.



Chris had today off so we went to Grand Isle (Gulf of Mexico). We had gone on Easter Sunday and the kids had loads of fun looking for sea shells. Well, we decided to buy them each a bucket and let them have at it. We spent maybe 3 hours out there, had tons of fun, and even learned some stuff (I will be posting that on my home school blog soon). I couldn't choose just a few pictures to post, so I chose 30+ of them. I apologize for this. However, I love to take pictures of my kids! With that being said, besides Connor (because let's face it, babies are irresistible models), Courtney is one of my favorites to photograph. She has the innocent look to her, still.... So, there are quite a few of her in this post.



All the kids walking in the sand:


Oil rig, courtesy of off-shore drilling:


Chris and Cheyenne:


Chris and Courtney:


Chris and Connor:


Tina drew her name in the sand:


Me and Connor:


Connor's name - first one by Tina, the second by Carly:



Connor:


Cheyenne and Courtney hugging:


Charlotte and Caitlyn hugging:


I told Carly to give Tina a hug. Tina took off running. Carly was in pursuit:








It ended with a sister group hug:


I told the kids to hug Daddy. Only 3 went:


Courtney:


Cheyenne:


Courtney:


Cheyenne loves to chase birds:



Me and Courtney:


"Who did it?" (Charlotte and Caitlyn):


The other kids went walking down the shoreline to get their float or sink experiment out of the water. Courtney was left behind and looked dejected:


CSx9:


Tina's "castle" she made (decorated by Charlotte and Caitlyn):


Carly's "castle" she made:

What I Learned This Week....

I think this totally random meme is a wonderful thing. A wonderful mommy blogger I have been following for awhile now -- Julie from From Inmates to Playdates -- hosts this on her blog. Anyways, I kinda digressed a bit to give her a shout-out, but I think this meme was a wonderful idea because hey, you learn at least one new thing a day. Why not share it with the world.....

Now, what have I learned this week.

1 ~ Well, I learned that auditing is not for me. So, when I finish my degrees and begin working and my boss tries to assign me to an audit file, I will probably quit on the spot. I - WANT - NO - PART - OF - IT! And to elaborate a little more on this, I have learned that I am incapable of having a fraudulent thought. I could not for the life of me figure out how Netflix could fix the books for a financial gain. Hmmmmm......

2 ~ I learned that the KFC Double Down Sandwich is not worth a repeat purchase. I know, I know.... It was bad for me anyway, but I just had to try it. And although it was edible and didn't taste that bad, it is just not something I will buy again. Thanks for the thought, Colonel, but I'll just stick with my regular grilled meal. Thanks....

3 ~ I learned that your "friends" aren't always your friends. I have made it a point not to speak to a group of friends in almost 3 weeks. 3 weeks people! And do you know how many of them have bothered to see if anything was wrong? Not a one. Sounds petty, but hey, if they aren't my friends then I am not missing anything by not talking to them, right?

4 ~ I have learned that no matter what your stance in a disagreement is, that your friends will make you choose between them. And I have also learned that if you choose to remain neutral, then they will choose sides for you. It's kind of depressing, but I learned this little gem last night. Want to know how? I went to leave them a comment on facebook and found out that I was no longer on their friends list. Hmmmm...... sure..... okay. Kind of reminds me of a page I became a fan of the other day -- You're angry at me for that? That's cool,just let me know when you grow up! I mean I haven't done anything to you.....

5 ~ I have learned that it is perfectly acceptable for a grown sports broadcaster to announce on national television that "He (the basketball player) got hit in the grill." Really?? In his grill..... what happened to "mouth"? Leave the grill for street talk. Those poor old folk who were watching were probably confused.....

6 ~ I have learned that the more kids you have, the less you will sleep. I know, many of you may already know this, but I can hope. It seems that at least one of my kids is always up needing something......... Oh, to sleep again........

7 ~ I have learned that I need to trade in some parent reward points for a copy of "How to survive living with a pre-teen girl." Any suggestions????

Be sure to check back next Tuesday to see what I have learned this week......

And be sure to check Julie's blog - From Inmates to Playdates - to see what others have learned this past week.

QOTW - Leashes: For Kids or Dogs?

How do you feel about child harnesses?


■Do you use them? Why or why not?No, I have NEVER used a child harness with any of my children. I kinda feel it treats them like a dog or other animal. And that is not my intentions as a mother at all. When it was just my one child, if she wasn't in a stroller, she held my hand. When baby #2 came along, I let my oldest "help" me push the stroller. Then each one held one of my hands. When Twins #1, came through, I let my second help push the stroller while my oldest (then 7/8 year old walk beside me). Now, you would think that when Twins #2 came, I would need leashes. Nope... At first we had another double stroller. My oldest always helped me (she was 9/10 when they were born and an infant). Then we moved them to single umbrella strollers. Set up was still easy. I pushed one and sometimes let my second push it. And my oldest pushed the other. The older twins usually held my hands (or the stroller handles if I was pushing). I have just never felt the NEED to use a leash. Besides, in my opinion, I think it looks rather silly.
■How do your kids react to them? Well, I don't use them so they don' react much to them.They giggle when they see them on another child.
■Do you think they are an example of laziness, or simply concern over your child's safety?I can see where technically it could be both. It really depends on the parent/child. Some parents are just too "busy" to keep up with their child so they use a leash. Some parents just find it simpler for their lifestyle. To each their own....
■If you are against them, do you think it's more acceptable for a parent of multiples to use them? I am not for them or against them. I personally would never use them. I personally think it is embarrassing (for the child) and silly looking. But, another parent may find them needed in their life, so if its what they need then by all means -- whether you have 1 kid or multiples.
■Do you think negatively of other parents that use them?No.We all parent differently. What may work for you doesn't necessarily mean it will work for me. As I said earlier - To each their own.

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Don't forget to stop by Multiples and More and see what how other great moms of multiples feel about child leashes/harnesses!